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Mapfre of Spain is the leading auto and health insurance company in South America, and it’s hoping to bring that flavor of success to the region. The company has operations in 47 different countries and 17 states in the U.S. Last year it earned $40 billion in sales.

The company broke into the U.S. market in 1993 when it began doing business in Florida. It followed that move with the 2008 acquisition of Massachusetts-based Commerce Insurance and has worked to build a greater presence in the U.S. since.

Chief Executive and Chairman Antonio Huertas and U.S. President and CEO Jaime Tamayo sat down with the Register to talk about the U.S. market and expansion into Southern California through partnerships with Anaheim-based Northgate Market and El Super, based in Paramount.

Q. Why is the U.S. an important market for Mapfre?

A. Huertas: America is a third of the total premiums in the world. If we want to be a real global insurance company, we have to strengthen our business in the states. And America is the most sophisticated market as well.

Q. The company has been in California for about a decade, why focus on Southern California now?

A. Tomayo: In California we expect to reach about $140 million in sales by the end of 2014. We think Orange County is one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, and we’re expecting substantial material growth. Orange County, L.A., this entire area is important to us because of the population concentration and the Latino market.

Q. How do you plan to reach Californians?

A. Tomayo: We’re partnering with major retail chains in the state and specifically in Southern California, like Northgate, El Super and other chains. We’re putting our own employees into those stores and we’re serving the community where there’s high traffic.

Q. What are your projections for growth?

A. Tomayo: We will be growing substantially in the state of California. We’re projecting $140 million by the end of the fiscal year, and in three years we should duplicate that.

– William D’Urso

On the move

Danny Streiff has been appointed senior vice president of sales for mid-market at vWise, an Aliso Viejo developer of interactive learning software. He previously worked in national account sales at Reliance Trust Co.

Rick Andersen has joined DevicePharm, a medical marketing firm based in Irvine, as managing director. He was formerly founder and creative director at Andersen Jones Marketing Medicine, a branding agency in San Juan Capistrano.

Brad Wheatley has been promoted to chief operating officer at First Financial Corporate Services Inc., an equipment leasing company in Placentia. He also serves as chief financial officer, a role he retains as he takes his new duties as COO.

Mitchell Statham is now senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, a newly created position at Netlist Inc., an Irvine manufacturer of computer memory for servers and cloud systems. He previously worked at Stats Chippac Ltd. as a vice president of sales.

New ventures

Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. is the first company to roll out tablets that use Windows 8.1 with Bing, an operating system Microsoft launched last week. Encore 2 models will be available in July, priced at $200 for the 8-inch version and $270 for a 10.1-inch screen. Unique to the new system is a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, which usually costs $70. Excite Go, a $110 Android-powered 7-inch Toshiba tablet also will be available in July. The Irvine-based company is owned by Toshiba America Inc., a subsidiary of the Japanese Toshiba Corp.

Information Management Resources Inc., an Aliso Viejo company that handles data center operations and cybersecurity, has been awarded an $8.5 million contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Miss. IMRI will provide services to operate and manage integration of the unit’s environmental lab at the Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg. The work is expected to be finished May 2019.

Leadership

Jane Buchan, founder and chief executive at Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co., an investment management firm in Irvine, has joined the board of trustees at the Hedge Fund Standards Board, an organization in London that sets standards for the hedge fund industry

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